Eleonora van der Steen

My interest in becoming a MSC-teacher has a long prelude. In 2013 my family and I were in a difficult situation. My projects ended, my husband lost his job and on top of that our son had a burn-out. This created a lot of stress in my family. I mostly blamed myself and not knowing how to soften this, I created more pain. I took a course of non-violent communication ( Marshall Rosenberg) and this made a big change. In a bookstore I discovered Kristin Neff's book. Reading it changed my life! It opened up a new world to me: I discovered self kindness and started to see that we are all struggling at some point. This realization and friendliness made me stronger and more confident. I started to accept my vulnerabilities instead of denying or covering them up. Next I started to practice Mindfulness. Thuy Do, a wonderful, compassionate teacher learned me to meditate and do body scans. I gained more body awareness and peace in myself and my family benefited too. It felt like a flower in the desert!
As an Organizational Psychologist I want this flower to bloom in the workplace too. Giving people tools to change their self criticism into acceptance and kindness can create a more inclusive and sustainable organizational culture. thus making an enormous difference in the daily working life of all.